Strange Question?

[sarahjackson]

My name is Sarah and I'm an aspiring software entrepreneur living in Portland, OR.

I'm doing some research on the PV Installer industry to see if I can find some of the consistent challenges it is facing.

Then my hopes would be to solve them...with software.

Can folks tell me one frustration they deal with on a daily basis? Even one sentence is fine!

Look forward to hearing what people have to say.

[russ]

Hi Sarah - Welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

I used to live in your rainy city - grew up in Madras on the east side of the Cascades and then worked in Portland - left there in about '78.

Let us see what kind of comments you can get.

Russ

[sarahjackson]

Hi Sarah - Welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

I used to live in your rainy city - grew up in Madras on the east side of the Cascades and then worked in Portland - left there in about '78.

Let us see what kind of comments you can get.

Russ

Hi Russ, nice to meet you!

[Sunking]

Well there is two things yu cannot solve. Weather and free money off the backs of taxpayers. Subsidies, Net Metering, and incentives are going away thank God.

[sarahjackson]

Well there is two things yu cannot solve. Weather and free money off the backs of taxpayers. Subsidies, Net Metering, and incentives are going away thank God.

Sunking-

Do you currently use any software? Doesn't necessarily have to be modeling or CAD software....but timekeeping, scheduling, billing...etc.

In regards to the modeling software, I know a lot of installers use EagleView or SketchUp. Are folks relatively happy with those solutions? Did I miss anything under the modeling category?

[Naptown]

sunking-

do you currently use any software? Doesn't necessarily have to be modeling or cad software....but timekeeping, scheduling, billing...etc.

In regards to the modeling software, i know a lot of installers use eagleview or sketchup. Are folks relatively happy with those solutions? Did i miss anything under the modeling category?

nfpa-1-2012

[sarahjackson]

nfpa-1-2012

I'm not sure I follow....are you looking for software related to fire codes? I'm confused.

[Naptown]

I'm not sure I follow....are you looking for software related to fire codes? I'm confused.

No it just frustrates me.

[sarahjackson]

No it just frustrates me.

[bcroe]

Improved design simulation tool

My name is Sarah and I'm an aspiring software entrepreneur living in Portland, OR.
I'm doing some research on the PV Installer industry to see if I can find some of the consistent challenges it is facing.
Then my hopes would be to solve them...with software.
Can folks tell me one frustration they deal with on a daily basis? Even one sentence is fine!
Look forward to hearing what people have to say.

Sarah, you might want to try and improve the tools for simulating the instantaneous and
cumulative energy harvest for a group panels with assorted alignments & sizes. Some tools
currently available don't go far enough to easily aid in optimizing an array.

The sun energy hitting a panel is a function of the angle of incidence (perpendicular
being the highest), and the intensity of the sun at different elevations above the
horizon. The angle of incidence is a function of panel orientation, and motion of
the sun during the day, which in turn will change during the seasons.

I would like to input my location, panel size & efficiency, panel orientation, and date,
and get an instantaneous output in watts or KW, for any time of day. This is assuming
no clouds or shade. Also a GRAPH of the output level for that day would be useful, that
is what i am going to make from hourly numbers anyway. Integrating the area under
the curve to get total energy collected (KW hours) that day would be good.

THEN, i would like to run the same info for another group of panels, of different
orientation and size. This would give me another curve.

THEN I would like to take multiple curves, and add them up (hour by hour) into
a sum per hour, and a total curve for that combination & date. I would be likely
to want to get the same output info for the same components, on other dates.

As you know, the output of a single panel tends to rise to a maximum peak as
the sunlight angle of incidence approaches perpendicular, then drop off. The
time of the peak varies primarily with the orientation, and also with varying sun
intensity. My objective is to use multiple orientations (and sizes) to produce a
sum curve which is much broader over the day, closer to flat on top.

Experiments are going on, but not to this level of detail, to my knowledge.

Bruce Roe

[sarahjackson]

Sarah, you might want to try and improve the tools for simulating the instantaneous and
cumulative energy harvest for a group panels with assorted alignments & sizes. Some tools
currently available don't go far enough to easily aid in optimizing an array.

The sun energy hitting a panel is a function of the angle of incidence (perpendicular
being the highest), and the intensity of the sun at different elevations above the
horizon. The angle of incidence is a function of panel orientation, and motion of
the sun during the day, which in turn will change during the seasons.

I would like to input my location, panel size & efficiency, panel orientation, and date,
and get an instantaneous output in watts or KW, for any time of day. This is assuming
no clouds or shade. Also a GRAPH of the output level for that day would be useful, that
is what i am going to make from hourly numbers anyway. Integrating the area under
the curve to get total energy collected (KW hours) that day would be good.

THEN, i would like to run the same info for another group of panels, of different
orientation and size. This would give me another curve.

THEN I would like to take multiple curves, and add them up (hour by hour) into
a sum per hour, and a total curve for that combination & date. I would be likely
to want to get the same output info for the same components, on other dates.

As you know, the output of a single panel tends to rise to a maximum peak as
the sunlight angle of incidence approaches perpendicular, then drop off. The
time of the peak varies primarily with the orientation, and also with varying sun
intensity. My objective is to use multiple orientations (and sizes) to produce a
sum curve which is much broader over the day, closer to flat on top.

Experiments are going on, but not to this level of detail, to my knowledge.

Bruce Roe

Thank you Bruce.

Is this something that you would potentially use when giving a customer a quote?

[bcroe]

Peak sun predictor

Thank you Bruce. Is this something that you would potentially
use when giving a customer a quote?

Sarah, I have my own panels facing 3 directions. The directions & sizes are a haphazard
guess, although they are doing well. I would rather use sun simulations to do a more precise
and predictable design.

I have no customers, but others do. Panels get put at varied positions depending on what
is available (roofs, etc). It would be good, if the peak performance of such an arrangement
could be easily predicted, and perhaps optimized more. However, I don't know how others
feel about this. Bruce Roe

[J.P.M.]

Sarah, I have my own panels facing 3 directions. The directions & sizes are a haphazard
guess, although they are doing well. I would rather use sun simulations to do a more precise
and predictable design.

I have no customers, but others do. Panels get put at varied positions depending on what
is available (roofs, etc). It would be good, if the peak performance of such an arrangement
could be easily predicted, and perhaps optimized more. However, I don't know how others
feel about this. Bruce Roe

The type of information Bruce is referring to is readily available and almost ubiquitous in the solar energy community. It's there for the taking, or more often, buying. Check the NREL website for starters. Also, some time spent with a solar textbook will pay big dividends. Knowledge gained there will allow you to write your own software, save $$'s and allow you to estimate just about anything you can think of. Honest. Many individuals and organizations have done it. There's no trick to it. Resource assessment, as it is sometimes called, is a very well developed area in the solar energy field. The Solar Energy Society once had an entire division dedicated to it. Perhaps they still do.

[Shockah]

Hey Sarah,

I'd be the first to purchase a data-logger that can be installed in a low-voltage low-wattage outdoor-enclosure.

As for example, a 20w Panel / 18AH Battery / 3w LED Dusk-to-Dawn Lamp...
Life would be great if you were to develop a 24/7 data-logger for the charge/discharge cycles...

Thank you.

[bcroe]

The type of information Bruce is referring to is readily available and almost ubiquitous in the solar energy community. It's there for the taking, or more often, buying. Check the NREL website for starters. Also, some time spent with a solar textbook will pay big dividends. Knowledge gained there will allow you to write your own software, save $$'s and allow you to estimate just about anything you can think of. Honest. Many individuals and organizations have done it. There's no trick to it. Resource assessment, as it is sometimes called, is a very well developed area in the solar energy field. The Solar Energy Society once had an entire division dedicated to it. Perhaps they still do.

After this message, I discovered that J.P.M. sent me PM weeks ago about a possible
program resource solution. I will need to go to the library to get enough bandwidth
to attempt this. Of course there is no way for me to realize a PM was sent; maybe
the problem is, my frequently checked email isn't on my profile. Its bcroeatjuno.com . Bruce